Fire Marshal: Apartment building destroyed in three-alarm fire had no sprinklers
Residents of the Olde English Village apartments in West Des Moines waited to assess damage to their homes Tuesday following a three-alarm fire at the apartment
The blaze broke out Monday afternoon in one of the buildings at 1201 Office Park Road.
Fire crews continued to monitor hot spots Tuesday, but investigators were able to enter the buildings remains for the first time to start searching for a cause.
The damage is obvious from up above and down below, but it’s what remains inside that is causing concern for renters at Olde English Village.
"I’m in the basement, so I don't think there was flames where I was, but they were shooting a lot of hoses in,” said resident Kyle Bochart, who was displaced by the fire. “And so, I just envision all my stuff just like floating everywhere."
Bochart was at work when the fire broke out, but rushed home to watch flames burst through his apartment building.
“All my stuff is there, and all I had was literally the clothes I was wearing and my backpack,” Bochart said.
The Olde English Village apartment fire the latest massive fire to hit a metro apartment complex this winter
"About every 21 seconds across the country, a fire department is responding to an actual fire,” West Des Moines Fire Marshal Mike Whitsell said. “It seems like those fires have been happening here."
Whitsell said a growing metro population could be to blame for the recent fires, but pinpointing an exact reason is difficult.
"It just seems we're winning that lottery, so to speak,” Whitsell said. “It's a lottery we don't want to win."
Whitsell said Olde English Village did not have sprinklers, causing damage to the apartment building.
The American Red Cross said it has helped nine families and individuals impacted by the fire.